• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.259-267
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• 2015

Objectives: This study evaluated the regional and seasonal concentrations of ambient hazardous heavy metals in an industrial complex area in Daegu City. Methods: A total of 64 SPM (Suspended Particulate Matter) samples were collected in non-industrial and industrial areas during 2014 and were analyzed for hazardous heavy metals elements (As, Cd, Mn, Ni, Pb) with ICP after acid extraction. Results: SPM and hazardous heavy metals concentrations showed regional (industrial complex area>non-industrial complex area) and seasonal (spring, winter>fall, summer) variations. All of the hazardous heavy metals were influenced by anthropogenic sources. The pollution index of hazardous heavy metals was very low, showing roughly one-quarter of the level of the air quality guidelines of WHO. The correlation analysis among SPM and hazardous heavy metals indicated that components of non-industrial complex areas were more related to each other than those of industrial complex areas, and the correlation in the winter was higher than in other seasons. Conclusion: It is necessary to control air pollution sources and establish related policy because hazardous heavy metals from industrial areas can influence residential areas.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.454-465
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• 1998

This study was to investigate the recognition level of food contamination with residual pesticides and hazardous heavy metals from 365 male and female adults in Taejon area using questionnaires. Among the recognizing level of residual pesticides in overall foods, 69.1% were 'serious', 25.6% were 'average' and 5.3% were 'not serious'. Over 94.7% of the subjects recognized residual pesticides pollution infoods. for hazardous heavy metals in food, 47.8% responsed as 'serious', 40.5% as 'average' and 11.8 as ' not serious' . Over 88.3% of the subjects recognized contaminated pesticides seriously in fruits, 72.1% in vegetables and 51.7% in cereals, whereas 55.7% of the subjects recognized hazardous heavy metal contamination seriously in fruits, 53.4% in vegetables, 40.8% in fishes and shellfishes and 35.0% in seaweeds. The subjects recognized residual pesticides contamination more seriously in overall foods, cereal, potatoes and starches, bean, vegetables and fruits, whereas hazardous heavy metal contamination was recognized more seriously in fishes and shellfishes, and seaweeds food groups. Comparisons were shown based on individuial's occupation. Farmer, forester, iner and fisher showed the lowest recognizing level of food contamination in most food groups. The mean score of the dietary effect by mass media's information on food contamination from residual pesticides and hazardous heavy metals were 3.51±0.96 out of 5 points. By Duncan's multiple range test, sex, age, marriage, food cost per month, concerns about health and nutrition knowledge showed significant differences in the mean effect score at p<0.05. According to a pesticides contamination in several food groups were affected by food cost per month, mass media's information on food contamination, health status, and concerns about health, But a recognition level of hazardous heavy metals in food were affected by income and, food cost per month mass media's information on food contamination, health status, concern about health and nutrition knowledge. People who need to take extreme precautions of food contamination were in order of producers, government officials, homemakers, the consumer's association and consumers.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.257-266
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• 2017

Objectives: The hazardous metals content of medicinal herbs distributed in the Daegu area was investigated, and the place of origin and the content of herbicides and medicinal components were studied. Methods: An analysis of hazardous metals content (10 types) was carried out on 164 samples of 99 types of herbal medicines. Among the total samples, 45 were domestic and 119 were imported. Hg was analyzed by the amalgamation method. Other hazardous metals content (nine types) was digested using the microwave method and measured by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Results: The mean values of the hazardous metals content in the herbal medicines were Pb 1.0833 mg/kg, As 0.0136 mg/kg, Cd 0.0840 mg/kg, Cr 3.7120 mg/kg, Cu 4.2666 mg/kg, Mn 40.080 mg/kg, Ni 1.4330 mg/kg, Sb 0.1053 mg/kg, Al 202.64 mg/kg and Hg 0.0062 mg/kg. Three of the samples violated the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) regulatory guidance on cadmium (less than 0.3 mg/kg). The measured values of heavy metals (Pb, As, Cd, Hg) showed levels below the recommended levels for herbal medicines in MFDS regulatory guidance. In the comparison of domestic samples with imported herbal medicines, it was found that one domestic and two imported samples surpassed the maximum residue limits for cadmium. The median values of the hazardous metals detected in the three medicinal parts of the root, leaf (branch), and flower (seed and fruit) were as follows. Cr, Ni, Sb and Al were highly detected in roots, Pb, Cd, Mn, Hg in leafs (branch), and As, Cu in flowers (seed and fruit). Conclusion: There were various kinds of hazardous metals which were detected at high levels according to the place of origin of the medicinal herb and the parts the plant. For hazardous metals for which no acceptance criteria have been established, safety standards should be further studied and managed to ensure the safety of herbal medicines.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.48-54
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• 2020

Korea, one of the manufacturing-oriented countries, consumes a large amount of metals in various industrial areas, but should depend on import of most of the metals from foreign countries. Also, global metal consumption amounts are increasing in relation to those of the world's reserve and production. Some metals are limitedly produced from only several centuries, which might lead to instability of the future supply of those metals. In addition, when such metals are hazardous, those may result in various environmental troubles with contamination. To resolve those issues, the recovery and the recycling of hazardous but valuable metals in industrial waste are desirable. However, there are overwhelming numbers of the metal types, waste generators, and amounts of wastes containing the metals, so it can be troublesome even to implement a preliminary status analysis to screen proper metals, wastes with the metals, and waste producers. Therefore, this study introduces the valuable metals for Korean industry, announced by public institutions, Also, a flow chart is suggested to facilitate a preliminary status analysis, using the domestic PRTR (Pollutant Release and Transfer Register) database, to screen proper waste producers containing some of hazardous but valuable metals such as nickel, cobalt, and manganese.

• 연구논문집
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• s.31
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• pp.5-14
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• 2001

These days, interest in the leaching of hazardous heavy metals to consist of incinerator fly ash is increasing, because the heavy metals that leach from the incinerator fly ash pollute the soil and ground water. Therefore this study was undertaken to crystallize the fly ash and prevent the leaching of hazardous heavy metals from fly ash. The concentrations and the leaching concentration of hazardous heavy metals(Cd, Cr, Hg, Pb, Zn) in the law incinerator fly ash have been measured. The fly ash was melted with two kinds of flux($Na_2CO_3, CaCO_3$) and its add quantity(0, 1, 2, 3 wt%). The crystal structure of melting materials was analyzed by SEM(Scaning Electron Microscope) and X-RD(X-Ray Diffractometer). The leaching test of melting materials was undertaken. And the relation between crystallization of melting materials and flux and leaching concentration. These experiments indicate that the concentration and leaching concentration of heavy metals in incinerator fly ash was much higher than the regulatory standard for leachates in Korea and U.S.A and average concentration of heavy metals in soil. And the crystal structure was better.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.233-242
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• 2019

Substance identification is the first step of the REACH registration. It is essential in terms of Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) regulation and because even trace amounts of impurities or additives can affect the classification. In this study, a scheme for the screening, quantification, and interpretation of trace amounts of hazardous inorganic substances is proposed to detect the presence of more than 0.1% hazardous inorganic substances that have been affecting the hazard classification. An exemplary list of hazardous inorganic substances was created from the substances of very high concern (SVHCs) in REACH. Among 201 SVHCs, there were 67 inorganic SVHCs containing at least one or ~2-3 heavy metals, such as As, Cd, Co, Cr, Pb, Sb, and Sn, in their molecular formula. The inorganic SVHCs are listed in excel format with a search function for these heavy metals so that the hazardous inorganic substances, including each heavy metal and the calculated ratio of its atomic weight to molecular weight of the hazardous inorganic substance containing it, can be searched. The case study was conducted to confirm the validity of the established scheme with zinc oxide (ZnO). In a substance that is made of ZnO, Pb was screened by XRF analysis and measured to be 0.04% (w/w) by ICP-OES analysis. After referring to the list, the presence of Pb was interpreted just as an impurity, but not as an impurity relevant for the classification. Future studies are needed to expand on this exemplary list of hazardous inorganic substances using proper regulatory data sources.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.212-219
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• 2009

Emission characteristics of air pollutants from three commercially operating cement kilns co-burning waste were investigated. The major heavy metals emitted were mercury (Hg), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and arsenic (As) Removal efficiency of the bag filter was above 98.5% for heavy metals (except Hg), and above 60% for Hg. Higher fractions of heavy metals entering the bag filter were speciated to cement kiln dust. On average, 3.3% of the -heavy metals of medium and low toxicity (Pb, Ni, and Cr) entering the bag filter were released into the atmosphere. Among highly toxic heavy metals, 0.14% of Cd, 0.01% of As, and 40% of Hg entering the bag filter were released into the atmosphere. In passing through the bag filter, the proportion of oxidized Hg in all cases increased. Emission variations of hazardous air pollutants in cement kilns tested were related to raw materials, fuel, waste feed and operating conditions. Volatile organic compounds detected in gas emissions were toluene, acrylonitrile benzene, styrene, 1,3-butadiene, and methylene chloride. Although hazardous air pollutants in emissions from cement kilns co-burning waste were within the existing emission limit, efforts are required to minimize their levels.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.28
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• pp.17.1-17.3
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• 2013

The fact that hazardous metals do not bio-degrade or bio-deteriorate translates to long-lasting environmental effects. In the context of evidently rapid global industrialization, this ought to warrant serious caution, particularly in developing countries. In the Republic of Fiji, a developing country in the South Pacific, several different environmental studies over the past 20 years have shown levels of lead, copper, zinc and iron in sediments of the Suva Harbor to be 6.2, 3.9, 3.3 and 2.1 times more than the accepted background reference levels, respectively. High levels of mercury have also been reported in lagoon shellfish. These data inevitably warrant thorough assessment of the waste practices of industries located upstream from the estuaries, but in addition, an exposure and health impact assessment has never been conducted. Relevant government departments are duty-bound, at least to the general public that reside in and consume seafood from the vicinities of the Suva Harbor, to investigate possible human effects of the elevated hazardous metal concentrations found consistently in 20 years of surface sediment analysis. Furthermore, pollution of the intermediate food web with hazardous metals should be investigated, regardless of whether human effects are eventually confirmed present or not.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.154-163
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• 2019

Objectives: The hazardous heavy metal contents of cosmetics were investigated and the resulting values were compared by type of cosmetics: skin care preparations (SCP), hair preparations (HP), makeup preparations (MP), and eye makeup preparations (EMP). Methods: The hazardous heavy metal contents (Pb, As, Cd, Sb, Ni and Hg) were analyzed for 358 cosmetics products (187 SCP, 82 HP, 56 MP, and 33 EMP). Hg was measured by the amalgamation method, and other hazardous heavy metals were measured by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) after decomposition using the microwave method. Results: The mean contents of Pb, As, Cd, Sb, Ni, and Hg in cosmetics were 0.424, 0.068, 0.024, 0.398, $0.567{\mu}/g$, and Not Detected, respectively. All of the hazardous heavy metals were detected in most products, but below the recommended maximums of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The level of Cd was the lowest at 14.8%, and Sb was the highest at 41.2%. Pb, Sb and Ni showed the highest mean value and detection rate in EMP. As, Cd, and Hg showed the highest in SCP, HP, and MP, respectively. Conclusion: Hazardous heavy metals were detected in most products. In particular, Pb, Sb, and Ni were broadly detected in EMP, meaning more stringent quality control is required.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.143-149
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• 2012

To prepare measures for practical policy utilization and the control of heavy metals, hazard control related institutions by country, present states of control by country, and present states of control by heavy metals were examined. Hazard control cases by heavy metals in various countries were compared and analyzed. In certain countries (e.g., the U.S., the U.K., and Japan), hazardous substances found in foods (e.g., arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury) are controlled. In addition, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) recommends calculating the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) of individual heavy metals instead of the acceptable daily intake (ADI) to compare their pollution levels considering their toxicity accumulated in the human body. In Korea, exposure assessments have been conducted, and in other countries, hazardous substances are controlled by various governing bodies. As such, in Korea and other countries, diverse food heavy metal monitoring and human body exposure assessments are conducted, and reducing measures are prepared accordingly. To reduce the danger of hazardous substances, many countries provide leaflets and guidelines, develop hazardous heavy metal intake recommendations, and take necessary actions. Hazard control case analyses can assist in securing consumer safety by establishing systematic and reliable hazard control methods.